Speech by Minister for Defence Mr Chan Chun Sing at the 92nd Installation Dinner of the Rotary Club of Singapore on 28 June 2026 at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore

Ladies and gentlemen, members of the Rotary Club, distinguished guests,

Tonight, we gather to celebrate the remarkable contributions of the Rotary Club. I want to thank you for your service to Singapore and Singaporeans all these years, and for the indelible mark that you have left in the course of your service, and for that, we are deeply grateful.

Tonight, let us take a moment to reflect on the historical arc of volunteerism and civic organisations in Singapore. Before independence, our social services were less organised, less well-funded. Communities came together to meet basic needs—survival, health, and dignity. Self-help groups, ethnic organisations, and civic bodies like the Rotary Club, stepped forward to fill the gaps. They were the lifeline for many, embodying the spirit of solidarity and compassion.

Today, our social service landscape has matured much. Much of the foundational work—housing, healthcare, education—is now supported by central public funding. Yet, the need for civic organisations remains. The question is - why? Because a society built solely on centralised systems risks losing something vital and valuable: the sense of ownership, the agency to contribute, and the human connection. We risk becoming transactional, that "if I pay my taxes, that will be all that is to it." But that is furthest from the truth. There will always be gaps, niches, and local needs that national schemes cannot address adequately. In Singapore, our challenges have evolved and they will continue to evolve. Beyond survival, we now focus on helping the disadvantaged keep pace in a fast-moving, hyper-competitive, hyper-connected world. We strive to ensure that no one is left behind—children from poorer families, the vulnerable elderly, those with special needs and so forth. These are some of our challenges today. 

Looking ahead, our challenges will grow even more complex. How do we integrate a new generation of newcomers—immigrants, both the affluent and the less so—into our Singapore social fabric? How do we prevent divides along lines of race, language, religion, citizenship or even socio-economic background? This is where organisations like the Rotary Club can play an important role. You all have the ability to mobilise those with time, talent, treasures and ties to uplift “the little, the least, the lame, and the lost", as we say. In doing so, you would have embodied the spirit of nation-building that defined our pre-independence generation—a spirit of collective effort to ensure that no one is left behind.

Singapore has been a nation that defies the odds of history. We are proof that a strong government and strong civic organisations can coexist and complement each other. It is never an either-or choice. Together, we can build a Singapore that brings out the best in everyone—and when I say bring out the best, I do not just mean we do what we can to uplift those in need, but on the other hand, by inspiring those who are better endowed, those with the time, talent, treasures and ties to contribute. We will have a very different Singapore. There is no shortage of countries in the world, or in the history of our world, where there are really rich people with time, talent, treasures and ties. But what would distinguish us from the rest is not how wealthy we are but how our wealthy are able to define their success, not just by their achievements but instead, by their contributions. That is our vision for Singapore – a Singapore whereby regardless of our background, regardless of our gifts, we do not just define our success by our achievements and certainly not our achievements relative to others. Instead, we hope to define ourselves as a nation where everyone regardless of background, define our success by our contributions where each and every one have the confidence and the opportunities to do justice to our respective gifts. Success is no longer about relativities, success is about lifting everyone together. For those of us who are familiar with the Chinese saying “施比受更有福”, “it is blessed for those who can receive, it is even more blessed for those who are able to give”. We hope that with your partnership, we can strive together to build a Singapore that will distinguish ourselves, not just by our material achievements but by our compassion, our inclusivity, and our ability to lift ourselves as we lift others.

On that note, I want to thank all of you for our service to the community and our nation, and for many of you, you have also contributed to a larger cause beyond Singapore and in doing so, you will help Singapore and Singaporeans to stand tall and proud amidst all the uncertainties and heightened securities in this world. There will indeed be many more challenges ahead but as I have always said, the challenges will never define us as Singaporeans but our responses together will define us.

Thank you very much for your service.